Non-detachable sliding and folding upper deck for brick-drier cars.



c. H. JOHNSTON. NON-DETAOHABLE- SLIDING AND FOLDING UPPER DECK FOR BRICK DRIER CABS.

APPLH'JA'IJIO H FILED APR. 20, 190B.

901,105. I Patented 001;. 13,1908.

1111; nnxms PETERS m. WASHINGTON, n. c.

CHARLES H. JOHNSTON, OF ROGERS PARK, ILLINOIS.

NON-DETACHABLE SLIDING AND FOLDING UPPER DECK FOR B RIGK-DRIER CARS.

No. 901,1o5.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 13, 1908.

Application filed April 20, 1908. SerialNo. 428,080.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. JOHNS- TON, a citizen of the United States, residin at Rogers Park, in the county of Cook an State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in N on-Detachable Sliding and Folding Upper Decks for Brick-Drier Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a deck or platform which is more especially intended for use in brick manufacturing plants and in connection with'the brick drier cars thereof, and it will be hereinafter referred to for such purpose and described in connection with one of said cars and as forming the upper deck thereof, but it will be understood that it is applicable for other uses and in connection with other supports than cars and for other than upper decks, and for this reason I do not desire to be limited in its use to any specific purpose or in its connection with any certain kind of car or support, except when so limited in the claims hereto appended.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a foldable and slidable deck or platform which may be readily placedin posi tion on the upper part of a brick drier car for supporting the brick in such a manner that they can be dried, and which deck, when not in use, may be folded and slid to one side of thecar and placed in such position that it will not interfere with the loading or unloadingof the lower deck of the car, and, besides, will have its parts so constructed and arranged that it will always be in position on its support or the upper portion of the car for adjustment as a deck or platform, thus obviatingthe" necessity of entirely removing and then again replacing the same, thereby saving much time and la:

bor and lessening the possibility of the slats and other parts comprising the deck becoming warped or broken. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a non-detachable sliding and folding deck or platform, which shall be simpleand inexpensive in construction, strong, durable and effective in operation, the parts of which may be easily assembled and readily placed in operative position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be disclosed in the subjoined description and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art' to which my invention pertains, to make and usethe-same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawing, in which I Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a brick drier car, showing a deck embodying one form of the invention mounted thereon and in position to receive the brick or other material which it is designed to support;

Fig. 2 isva' bottom plan view of the deck, showing it detached from the'car; Fig. 3 is an end view of the car, showing the standards or uprights at the'sides thereof shortened for the convenience ofillustration, and illustrating by continuous lines the positions to which the parts of the deck may be folded and slid when not in use and by dotted lines the positions the parts will occupy when ready for use; Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the deck, showingit broken for the convenience of illustration, and disclosing a modification in the construction of the straps or bars which form hinges for the sections of the deck, as well as supports or bearings for the engaging means or loops for the horizontal supports for the deck and Fig. 5 is a detail view. of the modified form of a portion of one of said straps, showing it secured to a portion of'one of the sections of the deck.

Like numerals of reference, refer to corresponding parts throughout the different views of the drawing.

The reference numeral 6 designates the side rails of the car-frame on which are supported by suitable hangers 6 the axles -7 on which are mounted wheels 8, of the usual or ordinary construction. At suitable distances apart each ofthe side rails 6 is provided with a number of uprights 9 which are connected together in pairs by crosspieces 10 near their upper ends. The side pieces 6 of the. car-frame are transversely connected by means of bars or cross-pieces 11 on which is located the lower or stationary deck, which is composed of a series of slats 12 which are preferably spaced apart, as shown, and said deck may be of the ordinary or any preferred construction. Located on the transverse bars 10 near the upper ends of the uprights 9 of the car is my improved upper deck, which consists of a plurality of sections, preferably two which are indicated as wholes by the reference numerals 13 and 14, each of which sections comprises a series of slats 15, which are preferably spaced apart, as shown, and disposed longitudinally with respect to the car, but may be transversely arranged thereon or in juxtaposition with one another, if so desired. IVhen disposed longitudinally as shown in the drawing, the slats 15 comprising each of the sec tions 13 and It are connected together near their ends and near their middle portions by means of transverse boards or pieces-16 which are bolted or otherwise secured to the lower surface of the slats 15, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawing. Secured to each of the crosspieces 16 near the ends of each of the sections 18 and 14: are metal straps or bars 17 and 18, the former of which have at each of their ends eyes 19 or transverse apertures, and the latter of which have at their outer ends eyes 1-9 or transverse apertures and at their inner ends hooks or extensions 20 to fit in the eyes 19 on the inner ends of the straps 17, thus hinging the two sections 13 and lat of the deck together so that they may be folded one on the other when desired. In the eyes at the outer ends of each pair of the straps 18 is located a swinging loop 21 which will stride the horizontal bars 10 so as to be movable thereon.

As shown in Fig. 2 each of the loops 21 has at each of its ends a lateral extension 21 to engage the bearings or eyes 19 in the straps therefor, and said loops are of sufficient size to loosely stride the supporting bars 10 of the car or other structure. In the eyes or bearings 19 at the outer ends of each of the pairs of straps 17 is located a swinging loop 21 which loop portions are preferably of the same size as the loops 21 on the straps 18, and have at each of their ends a lateral extension 21 to fit in the eyes or bearings 19 as in the other instance just above described.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawing it will be seen that the straps 17 are located in pairs at a greater distance apart than the straps 18, so that the pairs of the latter may fol-d between those of the former, and in order that the loops 21 may be of substantially the same size as the loops 21 the former are provided with elbows 21 near their lateral extensions 21 as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing I have shown a modification in the construction of the straps or bars 17 and 18, which consists in forming the outer ends of each with an open and hook-like bearing 22 in which the extensions 21 of the loops 21 and 21 may be placed after the straps 17 and 18 have been secured to the boards or cross-pieces 16, or they may be removed therefrom without detaching the straps from said crosspieces, for it is apparent by reference to Fig. 5 that when the sections of the deck are in position on their horizontal supports 10 the hooked bearings 22 will be presented upwardly, and as said bearings are open the extensions 21 of the loops may be readily inserted therein. In order to more securely hold the extensions 21 of the loops in the open bearings 22 the projections 23 forming a part of said bearings may be slightly bent inwardly so as to contract the upper or open portion of each of said bearings, as

will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 5 of the drawing. In this modification, the inner ends of each of the straps .117 and 18 are provided with eyes or transverse apertures 19 to receive pintles 21, which are employed instead of the lateral extensions 20 on the straps or bars 18 shown in the other construction and above-described. By forming the straps 17 and 18 according to the abovedescribed modified construction, it is apparent that the said stra )s will be alike and interchangeable.

From the above description of my improvements it will be obvious that the improved deck or platform constructed and arranged according to my invention is of an extremely simple and practicable nature, and it will be understood that while it is shown in connection with a car as a. support: therefor, yet it may be otherwise supported, and that when it is desired to use the deck for supporting brick or other material the sections thereof may be extended horizontally as shown by dotted lines in Fi 3, and when it is desired to fold the deck the parts may be arranged in the positions shown by continuous lines in said figure, in which operation it is apparent that the loops 21 and 21 which loosely engage the cross-pieces 10, will freely slide back and forth on the same, yet will hold the sections of the deck in position thereon and in such a manner as to be out of the way when the lower deck is being loaded. It will also be obvious from the above description that the improved deck is susceptible of considerable modification without material departure from the principles and spirit of the invention, and for this reason I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several parts of the device herein set forth in carrying out my invention in practice.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A deck consisting of a plurality of sup porting platforms hinged together at their meeting edges, horizontally disposed sup porting-members for said platforms, and means on the outer portion of each outer platform to slidably engage said supportingmembers.

2. A deck consisting of a plurality of sup porting platforms hinged together at their meeting edges, horizontally disposed supporting-members for said platforms, and a loop loosely connected'to the outer portion of each of the outer platforms near each of its ends and adapted to embrace said supporting-members.

3. A deck consisting of a pair of supporting-platforms, a pair of spaced apart straps transversely secured to each of the platforms near each of their ends, said straps being pivotally connected together at their inner ends in pairs and "having their outer ends provided with bearings, horizontally disposed supporting-members for said platforms, and a loop located in the bearings of the outer ends of each pair of said straps and adapted to embrace said supportingmembers.

4. A deck consisting of a pair of supporting platforms, a pair of spaced apart straps transversely secured to each of the platforms near each of their ends, said straps being pivotally connected together at'their inner ends in pairs, horizontally disposed support ing-members for said platforms, and means loosely connected to the outer'portion of portmg-members.

.5.- A deck consisting of a pair of supporting platforms, a pair of spaced apart straps transversely secured to each of the platforms near each of their ends, said straps being pivotally connected at their inner ends in pairs and having their outer ends provided with bearings, the members of each pair ofstraps on one of the platforms being located further apart than the members of each of the pair of straps on the other platform so that the latter pairs may fold between the members of the former pairs, horizontally disposed supporting-members for said platforms, and a loop located in the bearings of the outer ends of each of said straps and adapted to embrace said supportingmembers.

OHARLES H. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses CHAS. C. TILLMAN, M. A. NYMAN. 

